CD ROM Paradise Collection 4/CD ROM Paradise Collection 4 1995 Nov.iso/win/oswdemo.zip/OSWDMO10.ZIP/CHAP-4.TXT

Text File | 1994-10-09 | 44KB | 858 lines

CHAPTER 4
READING WINDOWS WITH outSPOKEN
Chapter Summary
This chapter explains how to use outSPOKEN's numeric
keypad commands to read text and graphics and to
navigate through the Windows environment. All
outSPOKEN commands are located on the numeric keypad,
and are illustrated in the outSPOKEN keypad diagram
(Figure 1). Pointing and clicking (KPD 5) and
outSPOKEN's use of the pointer as a reading and
navigation cursor are explained in Section 4.1. Use
of outSPOKEN's direction keys, DOWN (KPD 2), LEFT
(KPD 4), RIGHT (KPD 6), UP (KPD 8), and READ (KPD 0)
to read text and graphics is explained in Section
4.2. outSPOKEN's movement commands such as BOTTOM OF
WINDOW (KPD 3), TOP OF WINDOW (KPD 7), and MENU BAR
(SHIFT-KPD 7) are explained in Section 4.3.
outSPOKEN's FIND command (KPD 1) is described in
Section 4.4. The INFO key (KPD PERIOD), for reporting
character, font, and pointer location information, is
explained in Section 4.5. The TOP WINDOW command (KPD
SLASH) and switching windows using outSPOKEN's WINDOW
MENU (SHIFT-KPD SLASH) are explained in Section 4.6. A
number of less-frequently used, but still important,
outSPOKEN commands are listed in Section 4.7.
Finally, outSPOKEN's ability to track highlighting
and caret movement, facilitating the use of built-in
Windows keyboard commands, is covered in Section 4.8.
4.1    outSPOKEN and the Mouse Pointer
As explained in Chapter 3 (Section 3.1), the pointer is
an extremely important concept in Windows. The pointer
also plays the vital role of outSPOKEN's reading and
navigation cursor. While the sighted user moves the
pointer with the mouse, or some other device, the
outSPOKEN user moves the pointer by means of commands
from the numeric keypad on the right-hand side of the
keyboard.
As outSPOKEN reads through a window, the pointer moves
to the item that has just been read. When reading a
line (Section 4.2.1), the pointer moves to the end of
the line that was just read and waits for the next
command. Similarly, when reading words (Section 4.2.2)
or characters (Section 4.2.3), the pointer follows the
voice as the item is spoken.
When reading with outSPOKEN commands, the pointer is
restricted to the current window. This prevents text
and graphics from other windows from blending into and
being confused with the information in the window being
read. outSPOKEN also provides ways of switching between
windows when desired (Section 4.6).
The synchronization of voice and pointer movement
allows the outSPOKEN user to click (Section 3.1) on the
item that was just spoken. outSPOKEN's SELECT key (KPD
5) simulates the click of the mouse button. This key is
close to the center of the numeric keypad and is
marked, on many keyboards, with a raised line or dot.
4.2    Reading with outSPOKEN Commands
All outSPOKEN reading commands are issued from the
numeric keypad_also known as the outSPOKEN keypad.
These keys are illustrated in the outSPOKEN keypad
diagram, which is included with the outSPOKEN package
in both print and Braille (Figure 1). The main reading
keys are UP (KPD 8), DOWN (KPD 2), LEFT (KPD 4), and
RIGHT (KPD 6). These keys are arranged around the
SELECT key (KPD 5) like a print plus sign, or a compass
on a map. The READ key (KPD 0) is also used for
reading. This key can be found at the lower-left corner
of the keypad, and is twice the width of the other
keys.
As explained in the following sub-sections, the DOWN
and RIGHT keys read the next item (line, word,
character, etc.), while UP and LEFT read previous
items. outSPOKEN determines the logical "next" and
"previous" items by analyzing the layout of a window.
It reads through lists, toolbars, buttons, and text to
intelligently determine the next or previous item. This
means that the DOWN key does not always literally read
down. Sometimes, the logical "next" item will be
located somewhere other than immediately below the
current location. For example, this might happen when
two list boxes are beside each other, as in Figure 6.
After reading the last item in the list box on the
left, the "next" item is the top item in the list box
on the right.
4.2.1    Reading by Line
Reading lines of text or graphics is done with
outSPOKEN's UP (KPD 8), DOWN (KPD 2), and READ (KPD 0)
keys. Pressing UP speaks the previous line and moves
the pointer to the beginning of the line that was
spoken. The DOWN key reads the next line and moves the
pointer to the line's end. Pressing READ speaks the
current line without moving the pointer at all.
outSPOKEN's concepts of "next" and "previous" are based
on the current pointer location. If the pointer is at
the beginning of a line, then the next line is the
section of the line to the pointer's right_this being
the entire line. If the pointer is in the middle of a
line, however, the "next" line is considered to be
whatever text is between the current pointer position
and the next line break. Pressing DOWN in this
situation would read from the current position to the
end of the line. The same concept applies to the UP
key. If the pointer is at the end of a line, the
"previous" line is the text between the current pointer
location and the previous line break. If UP is pressed
when the pointer is not at the beginning of a line, the
portion of the line to the left of the pointer is read.
The READ key speaks the current line without moving the
pointer. The location of the pointer within the current
line does not matter. Whatever line of text the pointer
is on is considered "current," and it is read from end
to end when READ is pressed.
4.2.2    Reading by Word
Reading individual words and graphics is primarily done
with outSPOKEN's RIGHT (KPD 6) and LEFT (KPD 4) keys.
The RIGHT key read the word or graphic to the right of
the pointer, while LEFT reads the word or graphic to
the left.
When outSPOKEN reads to the right, it places the
pointer at the right end of the word it just read; when
reading to the left, the pointer is placed at the left
end of the word. If the pointer is somewhere in the
middle of a word when RIGHT or LEFT is pressed, the
whole word will be read and the pointer will move to
the end of the word in the direction indicated by the
key that was pressed. If the pointer is at the end of a
line when RIGHT is pressed, outSPOKEN reads the first
word on the next line. A similar action results from
pressing LEFT when the pointer is at the beginning of a
line: outSPOKEN reads the last word of the previous
line.
To read the current word without moving the pointer,
use the SHIFT key with READ (SHIFT-KPD 0). This reads
whatever word is currently under the pointer. If the
pointer is on an icon or symbol, the name of the
graphic is spoken.
Reading by word allows the user to move the pointer to
icons and symbols (Section 3.2). Each graphic is
treated as an individual word. By using the RIGHT and
LEFT commands, the pointer can easily be placed on a
graphic. Since icons and symbols have no real beginning
or end, the pointer is placed in the center of any
graphic that outSPOKEN moves to. When the pointer is
placed on a graphic, the name of the item is spoken in
the Graphic Voice (Sections 5.1.1, 5.2.1), which is
usually higher in pitch than the Text Voice. This
feature provides the outSPOKEN user easy access to any
graphics on the screen.
outSPOKEN's system of navigation through text makes it
quick and easy to place the pointer at either the
beginning or end of a word. These functions are built
into the reading commands themselves. For example, when
reading text with the RIGHT key, the pointer moves to
the end of each word as it is read. When reading with
the LEFT key, the pointer moves to the beginning of
each word. This means that pressing RIGHT and then LEFT
when reading text reads the same word twice, but places
the pointer first at the end and then at the beginning
of the word.
As explained above, outSPOKEN's RIGHT and LEFT keys can
also be used to move the pointer to the center of the
next or previous graphic, respectively. Pressing RIGHT
or LEFT when on a graphic moves the pointer immediately
to the next or previous item. For example, if the
pointer is on an icon, and RIGHT is pressed, the
pointer moves to the next item. If that item is a
graphic, the pointer is placed at its center; if it is
a word of text, the pointer is placed at the word's
end.
4.2.3    Reading by Character
Use the SHIFT key in conjunction with RIGHT (SHIFT-KPD
6) and LEFT (SHIFT-KPD 4) to read right and left by
character. If RIGHT is pressed while the SHIFT key is
depressed, the character to the right of the pointer is
spoken, and the pointer is moved to the right by one
character. If the LEFT command is issued with the SHIFT
key depressed, the character to the left is spoken, and
the pointer is moved to the left of that character. If
the previous or next character is a space, using SHIFT-
LEFT or SHIFT-RIGHT, respectively, will say "Space."
When reading by character, graphics are treated as if
they were characters. This means that in a row of
icons, for example, pressing SHIFT-RIGHT moves from
icon to icon.
outSPOKEN has the ability to announce all punctuation
as it reads. This setting can be adjusted to set the
desired level of punctuation (Section 5.1.6). When
reading by character, however, all punctuation is
spoken regardless of the punctuation setting.
4.2.4    Other Reading Commands
READ REST OF WINDOW (CTRL-KPD 3) reads the contents of
the current window starting from the current pointer
location and finishing at the bottom right of the
window. The pointer is moved to the end of the window
when this command is executed.
SPELL CURRENT WORD (CTRL-KPD 0) spells the current
word. This command does not move the pointer.
SPELL MILITARY (CTRL-SHIFT-KPD 0) is a command designed
to clarify letter pronunciation when spelling.
Occasionally, a speech synthesizer's pronunciation
makes it difficult to distinguish certain letters from
one another. To clarify any pronunciation ambiguities,
outSPOKEN's SPELL MILITARY command says "alpha," for
the letter a, "bravo," for the letter b, etc. The
pointer is not moved when this command is executed.
4.3    outSPOKEN's Movement Commands
In addition to moving the pointer by reading lines,
words, and characters (Section 4.3), it is possible to
move the pointer to a variety of locations without
reading the intervening text. outSPOKEN provides a
number of commands that move the pointer to locations
of particular interest within each window. The
following section describes some of the most important,
including TOP (KPD 7), BOTTOM (KPD 3), MENU BAR (SHIFT-
KPD 7), and more.
4.3.1    Moving to Top and Bottom
The top-left and bottom-right corners of a window are
two extremely useful places to be able to access
quickly and easily. outSPOKEN's TOP OF WINDOW (KPD 7)
and BOTTOM OF WINDOW (KPD 3) commands do just this.
These commands allow the outSPOKEN user to move to a
known location within a window. This feature makes it
much easier to explore unfamiliar windows.
The TOP OF WINDOW command (KPD 7) takes the pointer to
the top-left corner of any window, whether it is a
document, a dialog, or a menu. When TOP is pressed,
outSPOKEN says "Top" in the System Voice (Section
5.1.1) and places the pointer below any title or menu
bars. If these features are absent from the window, TOP
places the pointer at the extreme upper left of the
window. In a word processor document, for example,
pressing TOP places the pointer at the top of the
visible text in the window, but below the title bar.
RIGHT (KPD 6) or DOWN (KPD 2) can then be used to read
the text (Section 4.2).
The BOTTOM OF WINDOW command (KPD 3) also works in any
window, dialog, or menu. When BOTTOM is pressed,
outSPOKEN says "Bottom" in the System Voice and places
the pointer in the extreme lower-right corner of the
window. To read the bottom line of a window, for
example, the user would press BOTTOM, then UP (KPD 8)
(Section 4.2.1).
4.3.2    Moving to the Menu Bar
Moving the pointer to the menu bar (Section 3.3.1.2) is
an extremely common and useful thing to be able to do.
Pressing SHIFT with the TOP key (SHIFT-KPD 7) places the
pointer just to the left of the left-most item in the
menu bar. The RIGHT command (KPD 6) can then be used to
move the pointer to the menu title of interest. As
explained in the section referenced above, clicking on
the title of a menu pulls that menu down, and the
pointer is placed in the upper-left corner of the menu.
outSPOKEN's reading and navigation commands can then be
used to move to and select a menu choice.
4.3.3    Moving to the Control Menus
CONTROL MENU-CHILD WINDOW (CTRL-KPD 7) places the
pointer on the Control menu in the title bar of the
current child window (Section 3.3.1.4). If the current
window is not a child window, the pointer is not moved
from its previous location. If the pointer is inside a
child window, the pointer is placed on the Control menu
in the extreme upper-left corner of the window and
outSPOKEN says "Control menu."
CONTROL MENU-PARENT WINDOW (CTRL-SHIFT-KPD 7) places the
pointer on the Control menu of the current parent
window (Section 3.3.1.4). If the pointer is inside a
child of that parent, the pointer moves to the parent
window and outSPOKEN says "Control menu."
It should be noted that once in the parent window,
pressing the command to go to the child window's
control menu will have no effect, since the pointer is
no longer in a child window.
4.3.4    Moving to Window Edges
The pointer can be moved to any of the four edges of a
window by pressing one of outSPOKEN's direction keys in
conjunction with the CTRL key (CTRL-KPD 2, CTRL-KPD 4,
CTRL-KPD 6, CTRL-KPD 8). This set of commands moves the
pointer to the edge of the current window corresponding
to the direction key pressed. When the pointer is moved
to either the right or left edge of the window, the
vertical position is not changed; the pointer is only
moved horizontally. Similarly, when the pointer is
moved to either the top or bottom edges, only its
vertical location is changed. As an example, to move to
the top edge of a window, the user holds down the CTRL
key and presses the UP key (CTRL-KPD 8) to invoke the
TOP EDGE command. The pointer is moved to the extreme
top of the window, but retains its original horizontal
position.
4.3.5    Moving by Small Increments
Most outSPOKEN commands move the pointer from object to
object within a window. The POINTER UP, POINTER DOWN,
POINTER LEFT, and POINTER RIGHT commands are unique in
that they move the pointer regardless of whether there
is an object to move to. Holding down CTRL and SHIFT
while pressing one of outSPOKEN's direction keys (CTRL-
SHIFT-KPD 2, CTRL-SHIFT-KPD 4, CTRL-SHIFT-KPD 6, CTRL-
SHIFT-KPD 8) moves the pointer seven pixels in the
direction corresponding to that direction key. This
gives the outSPOKEN user finer pointer control than can
be achieved with the reading commands. It also provides
the ability to move the pointer to empty spaces between
objects in a window. These commands also differ from
the reading commands in that they allow the pointer to
be moved across window boundaries.
4.4    outSPOKEN's FIND Commands
outSPOKEN's FIND TEXT/GRAPHIC command (KPD 1) is a
powerful tool for placing the pointer on a particular
text string or graphic in the current window. With the
SHIFT key, FIND searches for a caret, and with the CTRL
key, FIND moves to, and reads, highlighted text. This
section describes FIND and all its features in detail.
Searching the entire active window for a particular
string of text is easy with FIND TEXT/GRAPHIC (KPD 1).
When the FIND key is pressed, outSPOKEN says "Find," to
let the user know that it is ready to perform a search.
The user then types the text to be searched for and
presses oENTER. outSPOKEN begins by searching down from
the pointer location. If nothing is found, the search
wraps. This means that the search is continued from the
top of the window. When outSPOKEN finds a match, the
newly found text is spoken, and the pointer is placed
at the end of the text that was found. If the text that
was searched for is contained within a larger word,
outSPOKEN speaks the entire word that was found, but
places the pointer at the end of the actual text that
was searched for. For example, if the word "elephant"
is in the window, and the user searches for the text
"leph", the word "elephant" is found and spoken, but
the pointer is placed between the "h" and the "a" of
"elephant."
It should be noted that FIND TEXT/GRAPHIC is not case
sensitive unless specifically requested (see below).
This means that only letter sequence is important, and
not the capitalization of individual letters. For
example, if the upper-case word "DOS" is in the current
window, and the user does a search for the lower-case
word "dos", the upper-case word will still be found.
FIND TEXT/GRAPHIC can also locate icons and symbols by
name (Section 5.2). After pressing FIND, simply type
all or part of the name of a graphic and terminate the
FIND request with oENTER. outSPOKEN searches the entire
window for a graphic with a name which contains the
search request. When an icon or symbol matching the
search request is found, outSPOKEN speaks the name of
the graphic in the Graphic Voice (Section 5.1.1) and
places the pointer on the graphic. Note that this is
the same way that the user searches for a string of
text. Thus, if there is text in the window that also
matches the FIND request for a graphic, that text may
be found instead. To exclude text from a search for a
graphic, simply type a CTRL-G after pressing the FIND
key, enter the graphic name to be searched for, and
then press oENTER. It should also be noted that only
graphics that are turned on (Section 5.2) are locatable
with FIND, unless Verbose Graphics is selected in the
Graphics Preferences sub-dialog (Section 5.1.3).
FIND TEXT/GRAPHIC can search for text or graphics in a
particular direction. To perform a directional search,
terminate the FIND request with one of outSPOKEN's
direction keys (Section 4.3) instead of the oENTER key.
Terminating the FIND request with the RIGHT (KPD 6) or
DOWN (KPD 2) key searches from the pointer location to
the bottom of the window. Terminating the FIND request
with the LEFT (KPD 4) or UP (KPD 8) key searches from
the pointer location to the top of the window. If
nothing is found in the specific direction, outSPOKEN
says "Not found," and does not wrap around to search
the other areas of the screen. It is important to note
that when searching backwards using LEFT or UP, the
pointer is placed at the beginning of any text it
finds, rather than at the end. For example, if the word
"pickle" is in the window, and the user searches
backwards for the word "ick", the pointer will be
placed between the "p" and the "i" of "pickle". Or, if
the user searches backwards for the word "pick", the
pointer will be placed at the beginning of the word
"pickle".
FIND TEXT/GRAPHIC can be used to search for particular
text attributes, such as highlight, underline, or bold.
Searches for attributes are performed by pressing FIND
followed by a CTRL character representing the attribute
of interest (e.g., CTRL-H for highlight or CTRL-U for
underline). To begin the search for that attribute, the
user can search the entire screen, by pressing oENTER,
or search only in a particular direction, by pressing
an outSPOKEN direction key. When text with the
appropriate attribute is found, outSPOKEN reads all the
continuous text written in that attribute. When
searching forward, the pointer is placed at the end of
the text that is in the attribute of interest; when
searching backward, the pointer is placed at the
beginning of the text. Terminating a search request
with oENTER searches the entire window for the
attribute and places the pointer at the end of that
section of text.
A FIND for attribute can be modified by using attribute
CTRL keys in conjunction with one another. For example,
the user could search the whole window for only
highlighted underlined text by pressing FIND, followed
by CTRL-H, then CTRL-U, then oENTER. To limit a search
even further, the user could include a particular text
string with attribute CTRL keys. To search the entire
screen for the highlighted and underlined name "Joyce",
the user would press the FIND key, followed by CTRL-H,
then CTRL-U, then type the word "Joyce", and then press
oENTER. Even if there are a number of occurrences of
"Joyce" in the window, outSPOKEN will find only the
ones that are highlighted and underlined.
Attribute CTRL Keys:
CTRL-B    Search for bold text.
CTRL-C    Perform a case-sensitive FIND.
CTRL-D    Search for dimmed text.
CTRL-G    Search for graphic.
CTRL-H    Search for highlighted text.
CTRL-I    Search for italic text.
CTRL-P    Search for plain text.
CTRL-T    Search for strike-through text.
CTRL-- Search for underlined text.
When searching for multiple attributes, the order in
which the CTRL keys are pressed is unimportant, but it
should be noted that some of these attribute searches
behave differently from the others. These exceptions
are listed below.
Case sensitivity (CTRL-C) is not a text attribute, but
can be an important distinction when searching for
text. For most searches, it is preferable to have
outSPOKEN ignore any differences in capitalization
between the search request and the found text. This
makes it easier to find a word when the capitalization
is unknown. If, however, the user is searching for a
title or other word with known capitalization, using
CTRL-C prevents FIND from locating the lowercase
occurrence of that word.
Highlighting (CTRL-H) is an extremely important thing
to be able to find quickly because Windows uses
highlighting to indicate selected items. To facilitate
finding highlighted text, outSPOKEN provides a FIND
HIGHLIGHT shortcut. Pressing the CTRL key with the FIND
KEY (CTRL-KPD 1) behaves exactly as if the user had
pressed FIND, then CTRL-H, then oENTER. It searches for
the next occurrence of highlighting in the window, and,
if none is found, it will wrap around and continue
searching from the top of the window.
Plain text (CTRL-P) searches for text with no special
attributes. This means that when CTRL-P is used, only
text without any attributes will be found.
It is important to note that some types of attribute
searches are not compatible with others. One cannot
search for bold and plain text, because plain indicates
the absence of bold (or any other attribute).
Similarly, it is not possible to search for an
underlined graphic, because underlining is a text
attribute and is not applicable to the concept of an
icon or symbol. For this reason, if there is a conflict
between any attribute CTRL keys, the most recent one
overrides any previous ones. For example, if FIND is
pressed, followed by CTRL-B for bold, then CTRL-P for
plain, outSPOKEN searches for plain text, and ignores
the CTRL-B.
4.5    outSPOKEN's INFO Commands
The INFO key (KPD PERIOD) reports attribute, current
character, and font information for text, as well as
the size and shape of icons and symbols. Pressing the
INFO key with CTRL and SHIFT reports the pointer's
location on screen, or, with CTRL alone, the pointer's
location within the current window.
4.5.1    Font and Graphic Information
Each letter written on the screen has a font, a size,
and an attribute. A font is a style of type which has a
distinctive look and name. Many fonts are named after
cities or corporations, and may have some descriptive
terms in the name, such as "sans serif," meaning that
there are no serifs on the letters.
A font size is measured in "points," referring to the
height of the letters. The larger a letter, the greater
the number of points.
An attribute is a way of enhancing a font to emphasize
or distinguish some words from others. Underlining,
bold, italic, and dimmed are examples of attributes.
The user can ask outSPOKEN to report the attribute,
font, and size of the current letter (the letter to the
right of the pointer), as well as the name of that
letter, by pressing the INFO key. The only exception to
this rule is when the pointer is at the end of a line.
In this case, there is no current letter, so outSPOKEN
reports on the info for the last letter of the line
(the letter to the left of the pointer).
When reporting size, outSPOKEN speaks the height of
that font in pixels, rather than points. If your screen
resolution is 72 dots per inch, the point size of a
font exactly corresponds to the pixel height reported
by outSPOKEN. Higher resolution video modes have
smaller pixels, and therefore must use more pixels to
draw a letter of the appropriate height. For example, a
12 point font at a high video resolution may be 15
pixels high.
If the pointer is on an icon or symbol when INFO is
pressed, outSPOKEN reports the size of the graphic,
rather than style information. This is because font and
attribute information do not apply to graphics. The
size of a graphic is given in the form of "X by Y Pixel
Graphic," where X is the horizontal measurement in
pixels and Y is the vertical measurement. This gives
the user a general idea of the size and shape of the
graphic.
4.5.2    Pointer Location Information
WINDOW NAME (CTRL-KPD SLASH) is an extremely convenient
command. It reports the name of the current window
without moving the pointer. If the pointer is in a
child window, such as a document window of a word
processor, this command speaks the name of the child
window; if the pointer is in an application window, the
name of the application window is read. In a menu, this
command reports that the pointer is in a menu, but does
not give the name of that menu. When used in a dialog
box, WINDOW NAME reads the dialog's title.
For more exact pointer location information,
outSPOKEN's WHERE commands can be used. WHERE IN WINDOW
(CTRL-KPD PERIOD) reports the location of the pointer
with respect to the upper left corner of the current
window, and WHERE ON SCREEN (CTRL-SHIFT-KPD PERIOD)
reports the location of the pointer with respect to the
upper left corner of the entire screen. Pointer
locations are given in terms of percentage over and
percentage down from the upper left corner of either
the current window or the screen. For example, if the
pointer is in the upper-left corner of a window which
is located in the lower-right corner of the screen,
pressing the WHERE IN WINDOW command might say
something like "zero by fifteen." This means that the
pointer is zero percent across the window (at the far
left), and fifteen percent down the window (probably
just below the title bar). Pressing the WHERE ON SCREEN
command might say "fifty by sixty-three." This means
that the pointer is fifty percent across the screen
(halfway between the left and the right sides), and
slightly more than halfway down the screen (slightly
closer to the bottom than to the top).
4.6    Switching Windows with outSPOKEN
Most of outSPOKEN's reading and movement commands
(Section 4.2-4.3) restrict the pointer's movement to
the current window. While this is important for reading
documents or navigating menus and dialogs, it is also
important to be able to switch quickly and easily from
one window to another. Part of the power of the Windows
interface is in its ability to display several windows
at once, each with different information. The sighted
user simply moves the pointer to the desired window and
clicks the mouse button to activate the new window. The
outSPOKEN user has a WINDOW MENU (SHIFT-KPD SLASH) to
perform this same function.
outSPOKEN's WINDOW MENU (SHIFT-KPD SLASH) presents all
visible windows in a hierarchical menu. The outSPOKEN
WINDOW MENU lists every visible application window. If
that window has child windows_such as document windows,
dialog boxes, or other sub-windows_that entry in the
WINDOW MENU has a sub-menu (Section 3.3.2) consisting
of these children. If one of these child windows is
selected from the sub-menu, the pointer is placed in
that window. Clicking once then activates the window
and brings it to the front.
The order in which the application windows are listed
in the WINDOW MENU is determined by which application
is currently active. The first item in the outSPOKEN
WINDOW MENU is always the active application window.
The subsequent entries are listed in the order of their
last use.
Each application window's sub-menu contains its child
windows, and they are also listed in the order of their
last use. Most dialog boxes are also listed in these
application sub-menus.
outSPOKEN provides a shortcut command for placing the
pointer in the currently active window. The TOP WINDOW
command (KPD SLASH) places the pointer at the top-left
corner of the active window. This command is extremely
useful for returning to the active window if the
pointer accidentally moves to a non-active window.
It should be noted that there are occasionally windows
which do not notify outSPOKEN of their presence. The
TOP WINDOW command can be used to go to these windows.
4.7    Additional outSPOKEN Commands
In general, the commands listed in this section are
less frequently used, but are still extremely useful
and powerful in appropriate situations. A casual skim
of this section is probably the best way to become
familiar with the existence of these less common
commands.
FIND CARET (SHIFT-KPD 1) automatically places the
pointer at the location of the text insertion point, or
caret (Section 3.1). When the pointer is placed on the
caret, outSPOKEN says "caret" to notify the user that
the relocation was successful. If no caret is found, a
beep is produced from the PC's speaker or from a sound
card if one is installed. This command is extremely
useful in such places as edit boxes and word
processors, where knowledge of the caret's location is
critical.
MOUSE DOWN/UP (KPD 9) toggles the mouse button down and
up. A single press of the DRAG key simulates the mouse
button being held down, and outSPOKEN says "Mouse
Down." The pointer can then be moved with outSPOKEN
commands to highlight text or drag an item to a new
location (Section 3.1). When the pointer has reached
its new location, the mouse button can be released by
pressing the DRAG key again. At this point, outSPOKEN
says "Mouse Up," indicating that the simulated mouse
button has been released and the drag action is
complete.
VOICE RATE FASTER (CTRL-SHIFT-KPD PLUS) increases the
Baseline Voice rate by one step. This is a shortcut to
editing the Rate edit box in the Voice Preferences sub-
dialog (Section 5.1.1). It is a temporary way of
changing the voice rate. The faster voice rate is not
saved to disk when the rate is changed using this
command. This means that any voice rate changes made
with this command will no longer be in effect after
quitting and restarting outSPOKEN.
VOICE RATE SLOWER (CTRL-SHIFT-KPD ENTER) is the inverse
of the command listed above. This command reduces the
rate of the Baseline Voice by one step. This is a
shortcut to editing the Rate edit box in the Voice
Preferences sub-dialog (Section 5.1.1). It is a
temporary way of changing the voice rate. The slower
voice rate is not saved to disk when the rate is
changed using this command. This means that any voice
rate changes made with this command will no longer be
in effect after quitting and restarting outSPOKEN.
STOP (KPD ENTER) causes outSPOKEN to immediately stop
speaking. Nothing will be said until some other key is
pressed. This command is most useful in conjunction
with SAY-ON.
outSPOKEN OFF (CTRL-SHIFT-O) turns outSPOKEN off. This
command has the same effect as terminating the
application from the Windows Task List, but is easier
and quicker. [Please note that this is the letter "O",
typed from the keyboard, and not the number zero. This
is the only outSPOKEN command not located on the
numeric keypad.]
SAY-ON (CTRL-KPD ENTER), also called Automatic Text, is
a command most commonly used with windowed DOS sessions
or with terminal emulation applications. This feature
toggles on and off with this command. When the feature
is turned on, outSPOKEN speaks all text as the text is
written to the screen, instead of waiting for it to be
reviewed with reading commands. The text that is read
when this feature is on is not limited to the current
window. Generally, SAY-ON is inactive, to prevent
outSPOKEN from speaking too much text as windows are
drawn and re-drawn. This feature can also be turned on
and off via a check box in the outSPOKEN System
Preferences sub-dialog, and is explained more fully in
that section (Section 5.1.8).
4.8    Using Built-in Microsoft Windows Commands with
outSPOKEN
Although outSPOKEN supports a full range of features
allowing the outSPOKEN user to point and click, many
Windows functions have keyboard shortcuts which perform
the same action as that of the mouse pointer. These
keyboard commands generally involve the use of the TAB
key, the ALT key, or the ARROW keys, and perform
functions such as changing highlight and focus,
switching between windows and applications, and pulling
down and selecting from menus. These built-in Windows
commands provide convenient alternative access to
functions that are usually performed with the mouse.
outSPOKEN provides all the feedback and functionality
necessary for using these built-in Windows shortcuts.
The following section is a brief summary of these
shortcuts and the way outSPOKEN interacts with them.
Please note that this is not a complete set
of instructions on how to use built-in
Windows commands. For more information about
Windows commands, see your Microsoft Windows
User Manual.
To explain how outSPOKEN supports Windows commands, it
is important to understand the concepts of highlighting
and focus. Microsoft Windows uses highlighting, which
usually appears as inverse text, to indicate an item
which is currently selected. Highlighting has different
meanings depending on the situation. When a menu is
pulled down, for example, the first item is
highlighted, indicating that if the user presses
oENTER, that item will be chosen from the menu. In a
group window in Program Manager, there is always a
highlighted program item. If oENTER is pressed, that
program item will be launched. In a dialog's list box,
the file that is highlighted will be read or written
when the dialog is dismissed.
While highlighting indicates selected text, focus
indicates a selected window or control. A window that
has focus is generally indicated by inverted colors in
its border. When a window or control has the focus, it
means that anything typed from the keyboard performs
some operation on that window or control. When a window
becomes active, it has been given the focus. Similarly,
opening a menu causes that menu to gain the focus. When
a dialog box opens, if there is a default button, such
as OK, that is the control which has the focus.
The ALT key
The ALT key is most frequently used in combination with
a letter key to pull down a menu from the menu bar. For
example, holding down the ALT key while pressing the
letter "F" usually pulls down the File menu from the
menu bar of the active application. Similarly, holding
ALT and pressing the "H" key pulls down the Help menu.
Such shortcuts involving the ALT key are called
"hotkeys." Because each application has its own menu
titles, these hotkeys change from application to
application. The standard way of indicating that a menu
can be pulled down with a hotkey combination is to
underline a single letter in the menu title_often the
first letter. This underlined letter is the menu's
hotkey. For example, a File menu which has the letter
"F" underlined can be accessed via the hotkey
combination ALT-F.
When a menu is pulled down by way of a hotkey
combination, outSPOKEN says "Menu" (Section 5.1.4).
outSPOKEN places the pointer in the menu, and the
highlighted menu item_usually the first one_is read
(Section 5.1.7). This is the same result one would get
by clicking on the menu's title with the pointer.
Once a menu has been pulled down, there are a number of
ways to make a selection. outSPOKEN's reading commands
(Section 4.2) can be used to explore the menu, and when
the pointer is on the desired menu item, outSPOKEN's
SELECT key (KPD 5) can be pressed. A second method is
to use the UP-ARROW and DOWN-ARROW keys to shift the
highlighting to the previous or next menu item. Each
time the highlighting moves, the newly highlighted item
is read, and the pointer moves to the end of the newly
highlighted item. When the desired item is highlighted,
pressing the oENTER key dismisses the menu and executes
the menu selection. A third method of making a menu
choice is yet another Windows built-in command. Each of
the items in the menu has a single underlined letter
which is frequently the first letter of the item.
Pressing this letter on the keyboard automatically
selects that item and dismisses the menu. This feature
is frequently used by advanced users who are familiar
with the available menu choices, and who know from
experience the name of the option they are seeking.
The ALT key performs a number of special functions in
Windows. In an application, a single press of the ALT
key highlights the first menu title in the menu bar. As
with all other highlighting, outSPOKEN reads the newly
highlighted item and places the pointer at the end of
the highlighted item. When a menu title is highlighted,
pressing the RIGHT-ARROW or LEFT-ARROW key shifts the
highlight to other menu titles. Pressing oENTER pulls
down the menu which is currently highlighted. If the
ALT or ESC key is pressed when a menu is already pulled
down, the menu is dismissed, and no selection is made.
Dialog boxes frequently contain controls, such as
buttons or check boxes, which can be selected by using
a hotkey combination. For example, pressing ALT-O in a
dialog box is often the same as clicking on the OK
button. As in a menu bar, hotkeys within dialog boxes
are indicated by a single underlined letter in the name
of the control. As in menu titles, the first letter of
the control name is frequently chosen to be the hotkey.
These dialog control hotkeys are generally used by
advanced users who are already familiar with the layout
and controls of a particular dialog box.
The ARROW Keys
It is important not to confuse the ARROW keys with
outSPOKEN's direction keys. The ARROW keys are located
between the main keyboard and the outSPOKEN keypad, in
a group of four keys arranged in the shape of an
upside-down print "T". The single key at the top of
this group is the UP-ARROW, and the one directly below
that is the DOWN-ARROW. The keys to the left and right
of the DOWN-ARROW are the LEFT-ARROW and RIGHT-ARROW,
respectively.
Like hotkeys and the TAB key, ARROW keys do different
things depending on the current active window. In most
situations, ARROW keys move highlighting from one item
to another. In a menu, for example, pressing the UP-
ARROW or DOWN-ARROW key will highlight the previous or
next menu item. In Program Manager group windows, the
ARROW keys shift the highlighting from one item to
another. In many dialog controls (such as list and
group boxes), the UP-ARROW and DOWN-ARROW keys shift
highlighting within the focused control as they would
in a menu. In an edit box or word processor, the RIGHT-
ARROW and LEFT-ARROW keys move the caret right or left by
one character (Section 5.1.7). If a button or check box
is highlighted, the ARROW keys move the focus between
controls.
Focus speaking and tracking can be adjusted in the
outSPOKEN Tracking Preferences sub-dialog. The Tracking
Preferences sub-dialog offers the option of having
outSPOKEN speak each newly highlighted item, and the
option of having outSPOKEN move the pointer to each
newly highlighted item. By default, as new items are
highlighted, outSPOKEN reads the highlighted item and
moves the pointer to the end of the highlighted area.
This makes it extremely convenient for the outSPOKEN
user to switch between outSPOKEN's pointer navigation
commands and Windows' built-in commands, depending on
what is most useful in a given situation.
Another important use of the ARROW keys is to move the
caret around in a text document. When using a text
editor, such as Write or Notepad, pressing the ARROW
keys moves the caret around within the text. Generally,
the UP-ARROW and DOWN-ARROW keys move the caret up or
down by one line at a time, while the RIGHT-ARROW and
LEFT-ARROW keys move the caret right or left by a single
character at a time. As the caret moves, outSPOKEN's
default setting is to move the pointer to follow, and
read the new line or character. From the Tracking
Preferences sub-dialog (Section 5.1.7), the Follow
Caret feature, which automatically moves the pointer to
follow the caret whenever it moves, can be turned on
and off. This dialog also provides the ability to turn
on or off the Read Caret feature, which performs such
functions as reading lines or letters when the ARROW
keys are pressed in situations involving editable text
(Section 5.1.7).
Please note that only editable text can be read with
ARROW keys, because the caret cannot move beyond the
editable region. To read menu bars, title bars, and
scroll bars, it is most useful to use outSPOKEN's
reading and navigation commands (Section 4.2-4.3).
The TAB Key
The TAB key is most commonly used within dialog boxes
(Section 3.3.3) to shift the focus from one control to
another. Pressing TAB in a dialog box might move the
focus from the OK button to the Cancel button. Another
TAB might shift focus to a combo box (Section 3.3.3.2),
while yet another might bring the focus to a list box
(Section 3.3.3.5). As each new control gains the focus,
outSPOKEN moves the pointer to that control, and the
highlighted item is spoken in the Focus Voice (Section
5.1.1). The ARROW keys can then be used to shift
highlighting within the focused control, or the
outSPOKEN user can use the pointer to read or navigate
away from the highlighted item.
Pressing TAB with the ALT key toggles the user through
the list of active applications. This is an example of
the "multi-tasking" ability of Windows. As the ALT-TAB
command is pressed, outSPOKEN says the name of the
application that will become active if the ALT key is
released. If the ALT key is held down, and TAB is
pressed again, another application's name will be
highlighted and spoken. This allows the Windows user to
quickly and easily switch from one active application
to another.
Please note that all functions of Microsoft
Windows are fully documented in the Microsoft
Windows Users Manual. There are also a number
of books published about Windows by third
parties. For a list of titles, contact your
local library or book store. Recordings for
the Blind can also supply a list of titles
currently available on tape or in electronic
media.